Gravity drain



'May 22, 1923.

M. w. sTAPLEToN GRAV I TY DRA I N Filed Oct. 20. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet litc n.,

i hdlilil@ oanvrrv Darlin.

Application lcd Cctober 2Q, 1927.. Serial No. 505910.

To all 2c/:mn t may," concer/n Be it. known that fliin'rin lll. STAPLE-rroN. a citizen the United States, residing l uscntine, i; the Countyolf Muscatine and State ot iowa, have invented certain new 'and useful.improvements in Gravity )j Drains; and l do declare the tollovvfinp,`to

be a full. clear and exact descri tion ot the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the which it appertains to make and use thesame.

lily invention relates to improvements in devices tor draining damp andswampy land, and more particularly to novel type ot drain employing' ahollow water collecting receiver to be inset in the earth, and a drainpipe leading; from said receiver, preferably to the gravel and sandladen subsoil.

The principal object oit the invention is to provide a drain of theclass specified which may be easily and cheaply constructed, which maybe applied to use by unskilled wo.A men., and which., regardless ofthese characteristics, will be eilicient and reliable.

1With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subjectmatter hereinafter described and claimed, the descriptive matter being;supplemented by the accompanying` drawings:

Figure L is a side elevation ot the invention showii fr one manner otapplying the same to use. y

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the device shown in Fig. l.

Figure 3 is a side elevation partly in section, showing" av differentform ot construea tion.

Figure 4 an enlarged vertical sectional view of the receiver the uppersection ot' the drain pipe.

Figures and 6 are horizontal. sectional views as indie( d by lines and6-6 respectively ot il 4.

Figure 7 is a perspective view ol' one oli the blo-Slis ot which thereceiver wall is constructed. 1

ln the drawings above brieifiy described. the numeral l. indicatesbroadly a hollow receiver to be inset in the earth to collect watertherefrom. rlhis receiver may be constructed in numerous ways, but ashere shown, it includes a horizontal rectangular bottom 2 preferablyconstructed of cement, concrete, or other porous material, said bottonibeine,- formed with an upright opening 3 which is preferably, though notnecessarily, disposed at its center, while on the upper side of saidbottom, is a continuous upstzundingrib 4l, said rib being spacedinwardly from and in parallel relation with the edge of the bottom.

The rib l is loosely received in a continuous groove 5 in the lower edgeof the lowermost section 6 oli' the upright receiver wall, the upperedge of said section havingr an additional continuous rib 7 receivedloosely in a groove 8 :termed in the lower edge of an upper wall section9. The receiver wall may be formed only of the two sections 6 and 9 asshown in Figs. l, 2 and 4, in which case a rectangular cap l0 rests onthe upper section 9, or the height of the wall in question may beincreased by the applica tion of one or more sections 9a as shown in lltwill also be understood that when the cap l0 is used, the wall may bebuilt up of any desired number of sections and when this cap isemployed, the entire receiver l is adapted to he embedded in the earthto allow cultivation over the same without injury thereto, lout when thecap is eliminated as in Fig. 3, the open upper end ot the receiver isadapted to be disposed on a level with the surface oi the earth. Whenthe last named arrangement is employed, moisture will not only permeatethrough the walls of the receiver, but surface water will run into saidreceiver, whereas when the cap l0 is used, moisture mustsoak through thewalls of the receiver and leak through the several joints therein toeffectively drain the soil.

Regardless of the manner in which thc re ceiver l is used, the opening;3 in the bottoni therecrp loosely receives the upper end of an uprightpipe section ll with which a drain pipe telescopes more or less,according to conditions encountered when 'installing the invention. Theupper end ot the pipe section ll is provided with a head 1,3 resting' on1the bottom This head. in addition to supportinn` the pipe section 1l,serves to trap any sediment, silt and the like, which may enter thereceiver l and to prevent this matter from beingr discharged through thedrain pipe section 1l. rllhe matter in question. however, will graduallyseep out ot' the receiver between the upper portion of the pipe sectionll and the wall ot the openino; 3 and will thus drop into the uprighthole le which is drilled in the earth and loosely receives the drainpipe when the invention is first applied to use. rlhe continualdischarge or" siltand the like into the Cil hole 14, however, will intime fill the space surrounding the pipe 12 and will thus reliablyanchor the same.

Although the drain` 12 might well` be formed of a single length ofpiping, it isV preferably constructed of a number of porous'tilesasillustrated in the drawings, and in most cases, it will lead from thereceiver 1 to the gravel and sand laden subsoil, whereby any watercollected by the receiver and discharged therefrom through the pipe,will be allowed to escape from the latter. However, it is obvious thatunder certain. conditions, the pipe 12 might well communicate with ahorizontal drain leading to any suitable point and forming no part ofthe present invention', therefore not shown. When tiles are used in theformation of the pipe 12,'their bells are disposed downwardly so thatwhile water is allowed to enter through the joints of the pipe, silt andthe like is prevented from entering.

in the foregoing, l have described the continuous wall of the receiveras constructed of sections disposed one upon the other. ln theembodiment shown,the several sections are yeach constructed of fourL-shaped blocks 15 of cement or the like, ,each block having a long armand a short arm, wherebythe vertical joints ofthe sections may bedisposed out of alignment as shown. Preferably, the joints between theseveral blocks 15 are in the form of loose-fitting tongue and grooveconnections, the longer arms of the blocks being provided with tongues16 received loosely in upright grooves 17 formed in the short arms.These j ointsv resemble'the joints between the-bottom 2 and the section.6 and between the superimposedv sections, this style of joint beingpreferably used since it allows water to pass therethrough into thereceiv. er. rl`he horizontal groove 8 and any groove or grooves whichmay be located above the saine, according to the number of superimposedsections of which the receiver is constructed, will collect mineralsilts such as lime, magnesim sulphur, alkali and also fine sand. If thismatter werenot given a chance to escape, it wouldclog the joints throughwhich the water enters the receiver, but the vertical grooves 17 permitthe silt and the like to run into the groove 5 from which it maygradually escape between the wall and bottoni of the receiver.

Preferably, the cap or cover 10 is formed with a continuousgroove 18 inits lower side receiving the continuous rib 19 on the upper edge of theuppermost section of the receiver. The joint vat this point may well betight and may. be supplemented by `a continuous flange 2O depending fromthe edge of the cover into close contact with the outer side of thewall. However, although this feature of construction, as well as thosepreviously described, is preferable, it is obvious that my invention isnot restricted to suoli minor details and that within the scope of theappended claims, numerous minor changes may be made.

I claimi:

1. A gravity drain comprising a receiver composed of a bottom, and acontinuous upright wall rising therefrom and formed of a plurality ofloosely jointed sections, and a drain pipe leading from the receiver.

,2. A gravity drain comprising a hollow receiver having a continuousupright wall formed of contacting blocks having` loosefitting tongue andgroove joints therebetween, and a drain pipe leading from said receiver.

3.A gravity drain comprising a hollow receiver including a bottom, anupright continuous wall rising therefrom and having a loose-iittingtongue and groove connection therewith, said wall being formed ofcontacting blocks having loosefitting tongue and groove jointstherebetween, and` a' drain pipe leading' from the receiver,

4.1%. gravity drain comprising a hollow receiverincluding a bottom, anuprighty continuous wall risingy therefrom andhaving a loose-fittingtongue and groovey connection therewith, said wall being formed ofcontact ing blocks having'loose-itting tongue and groove jointstherebetween, a cover resting onthe wall and closing the upper end ofthe receiver, and a drain pipevle'ading fr`om`said receiver.

5. A gravity drain comprising ahellowreceiver adapted to be inserted'inthe earth to collect water,therefro1nsaid receiver having a solidbottom provided'with anopening, and a drain pipe passing throughsaidopening in slightly spaced relation with its wall, said pipe having itsupper end spaced above said bottom to collect silt in said Vreceiver andpermit it to seep out of thelatterbew tween said pipe vand wall .of saidopening.

ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

MARTIN yw, sriirnnron.

